Autumn Rest
by chocolatequeen
Summary: When the TARDIS doesn't take them where the Doctor asked, the Doctor and Rose discover that sometimes, it's good to take a break. Part 8 of As Time Goes By, set after House Rules. Established relationship


11: scar kiss (prompted by an anon)

16: rain kiss (prompted by dagypsygirl)

Rose leaned back in the jump seat and watched the Doctor spin around the console. Well… she stared. But really, who could blame her?

The Doctor was dressed for the beach. She was too, for that matter, but she didn't wear a full suit almost every waking moment. He was in shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt that was blessedly tight. She watched the muscles in his back flex as he reached for the next control and sighed without realising it.

That is, she didn't realise it until the Doctor turned to look at her, his left eyebrow cocked ridiculously high. "Rose Tyler! Are you ogling me?"

"Maybe I am," Rose said, letting her gaze linger on his well-defined pecs. For a skinny bloke, he was surprisingly muscular. "What are you going to do to me if I am?"

The Doctor's eyes darkened and he took a step towards her before quickly shaking his head. "Oh no. I'm not letting you distract me. We're going to the beach, Rose! And Estaria isn't just any beach—it's the most pristine beach in the galaxy, with white sand and turquoise water and temperatures at the perfect thirty-two degrees."

Rose slid off the seat and grabbed her bag when the TARDIS landed gently. "All right then," she said, swinging the bag up on her shoulder. "Let's find a spot and you can rub sunscreen into my back."

A gust of cool wind blew into the TARDIS when she pushed the doors open, and goosebumps spread across her bare arms. "Well, we're sort of at the beach," Rose said, looking at the lakeshore. "But I don't think it's beach weather," she added, pointing at the bright red trees ringing the crystal clear water.

"What?" The Doctor looked over Rose's shoulder and sighed. "Oh, that's not right. That's not right at all!" He jogged back to the console and tapped at the navigation panel, growling at the TARDIS when their coordinates suddenly shifted. "Well what did you do that for?" he muttered.

"What'd she do?" Rose asked. "I mean, besides the obvious of not taking us to Estaria."

"We're on Earth. Only for a minute though. Close the doors, Rose. We'll try this again, and this time, she'll take us to Estaria." The Doctor glowered at the time rotor, adding an unspoken, _If you know what's good for you,_ to the end of that sentence.

Rose bit her lower lip and pulled her bag off her shoulder. "Lemme check something first, Doctor." She opened her bigger-on-the-inside bag and started laughing. "I don't know," she said, pulling out a jumper. "I think she's pretty set on us staying here. And honestly, it's not so bad, is it?"

The Doctor absolutely did not pout. "But we're dressed for the beach," he protested. Rose was in a red and white polka dot bikini, and he'd very much been looking forward to seeing her stretched out on the Estarian beach.

She smirked, and the tips of the Doctor's ears turned red. "Don't worry, Doctor." Rose patted him on the shoulder as she walked by him to return to their room. "I'll wear the bikini the next time we go swimming in the pool."

It wasn't the same thing, the Doctor wanted to protest, but instead he sighed and followed her to their room, where they both changed into the warm clothes the TARDIS helpfully had waiting on the bed.

"You know, Doctor," Rose commented as they walked back to the console room. "You're the only person I've ever met whose vehicle is also the backseat driver."

He grunted in annoyance and hefted the other bag the ship had now provided.

"Come on," Rose cajoled as they exited the ship. "She obviously thinks we need this kind of holiday. It might not be the beach, but we're still together, yeah?"

Some of his irritation eased now that they were out of his traitorous ship and he could smell the crisp, clean perfume of autumn. "You're right, love." He took Rose's hand and led her down the nearby trail. "Let's see where she's landed us."

They didn't have to walk far. A large cabin greeted them fifty feet down the trail, with a sign out front that proudly declared it to be the office for Pine Trails Cabins. The Doctor and Rose exchanged a glance, then shrugged and walked inside.

"Hello there!" the middle-aged woman behind the desk said. Her broad American accent made Rose think of Jack. "My name is Claire. What can I do for you folks today?"

"We have a reservation," the Doctor said, showing her the psychic paper. "Doctor John and Rose Tyler."

Claire hummed and moved her mouse around for a moment, before smiling up at them again. "Ah, here we go! Looks like you booked one of our deluxe cabins for three nights, Dr. Tyler. The notes say you specified you wanted one with a hot tub."

The Doctor nodded as he put the psychic paper away. "That's right."

Claire pushed back from her desk and tapped a code into a keypad on one of the drawers. "We keep the keys as secure as possible," she explained. "Here you go, keys to cabin 9."

The Doctor pocketed one key and handed the other to Rose while Claire grabbed a map from a display. "We're here," she said, marking an x by the office. "And your cabin is down this path, back by the lake. It's very secluded—surrounded by trees on three sides, with the fourth opening up to the lake itself."

"Sounds lovely," Rose said. She and the Doctor exchanged a glance. Their cabin was just the other side of where the TARDIS had landed. "Is there anything we should know, Claire?"

The woman handed them a brochure and quickly went over the rules, which basically amounted to general common sense behaviour. "We've had a bad fire year," she concluded, "so please don't start a fire in the outdoor fire pit. You've got a fireplace inside your cabin anyway."

"Thank you." Rose took the map and the brochure and waved at Claire, then followed the Doctor out of the office.

"All right, so how did that happen?" she asked once they were out of earshot.

The Doctor smirked at her. "Time machine, Rose Tyler. I find I keep having to remind you of that…"

They passed the TARDIS and continued towards the lake and their cabin. Rose considered asking her other question—Doctor John and Rose Tyler?—but decided against it, for the moment.

The trail opened up onto a small clearing, and Rose stopped when she spotted the cabin. "Oh, Doctor, it's perfect," she breathed. The front door of the cabin faced the trail, and two rustic rocking chairs sat on the covered porch. A stone chimney rose up the right side of the house.

A large deck ran the whole length of the left side of the house, facing the lake. Rose could see a small table and imagined that in summer, it would lovely to eat most of your meals outside.

But the main feature of the deck was a large hot tub. "I wonder why you asked for that," she teased the Doctor as he unlocked the front door. "Do you suppose I'll find another swimsuit in my bag when I unpack?"

The Doctor's eyes widened and he put his hand on his chest. "Are you implying that I'll request a hot tub just so I can enjoy the sight of you in that bikini?"

Rose grinned at him, letting the tip of her tongue poke through her teeth. "I'm not implying anything, Doctor—I'm saying it outright." She went on tiptoe and brushed a kiss over his cheek. "But that's all right, because I'll enjoy the view I get, too."

oOoOoOoOo

After they unpacked—the second bag turned out to be full of food for the weekend—the Doctor bounded towards the door. "Come on, Rose. It's a beautiful day outside, and we're wasting it in here."

She closed the bedroom door and smiled at him. "All right then, what do you have planned? And how could you even have plans, when you didn't know we were coming here until an hour ago?"

He waved the brochure at her. "Hiking trails! We can wander around the property and enjoy the autumn weather." He pushed the door open and Rose followed him outside. The October air was crisp and carried just a hint of wood smoke. The sky was a clear, vibrant blue, making the red maples and yellow aspen stand out.

"It is beautiful here," she agreed.

The Doctor held out his hand and wiggled his fingers, enjoying Rose's giggle as she took it. They walked together along tree-lined trails, enjoying the crunch of leaves beneath their feet. He rambled to Rose about the trees, and autumn colours, and why the air felt cleaner in autumn—anything that came to mind, really.

It didn't matter what he was talking about, because he was with Rose. Sometime along the way, she'd let go of his hand to link her arm through his and rest her head on his shoulder, and the knot of tension he'd been trying to ignore in his gut slowly eased.

The last few trips had been hard—harder than usual, even. He was doing his best to ignore the storm he could feel coming, but it seemed like Time didn't want him to miss it.

First, they'd battled robot pirates and a crazed man who thought he could bring his wife back from the dead. They'd barely gotten away from that disaster when the TARDIS and Rose both dreamed about children in danger in Wales, sending them on an adventure that had exposed Rose to unsavoury telepathic aliens.

He ran his free hand through his hair. After that, they'd ended up on Laylora, the paradise planet. You'd think they'd be safe on a paradise planet, but no, a crazy priest had tried to sacrifice Rose to appease the planet's deity. Well, the planet itself, really.

"Hey," Rose murmured. She ran her hand up and down his arm. "You can relax now. We're safe."

The Doctor stopped walking and wrapped an arm around Rose. He held her close and took a deep breath, enjoying the way her scent combined with the autumn notes in the air.

Rose wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed kisses to the Doctor's chest, over his hearts. He probably hadn't even realised he'd stopped talking a while back, letting a heavy silence fall between them. She'd tried to wait, but when she'd felt his body tense, she'd known it was up to her to pull him out of it.

A strong wind sent a swirl of leaves around them. The Doctor sighed and nuzzled into her hair, and Rose let him pull her a little closer.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

She felt him nod. "Thank you."

Rose took half a step back and ran her hands over the Doctor's chest until she could link them loosely behind his neck. "You know I love travelling with you, right?"

The Doctor's eyes shuttered. "Yeah."

His short answer sent a frisson of fear through Rose—fear that he'd decide it was best for her to stay behind, or that she'd be safer if they weren't together. Not that any of the threats she'd received recently had even mentioned her relationship with the Doctor, but she knew how his mind worked.

Rose's fingers played with the short hairs at the nape of his neck. "An' you know I love _you_ , right?" she pressed, wanting him to understand that this was truly her life now.

The Doctor's answering smile was genuine. "Yeah. I know."

One of his hands left her waist to cup her jaw, and Rose tilted her head back so he could kiss her. The soft little hum he gave when his lips touched hers was one of her top five favourite sounds in the universe, and she never wanted to go a day without hearing it.

The sudden rainstorm caught them both by surprise. Their lips parted and they blinked up at the sky before laughing, leaning on each other to stay upright.

Rose shrieked when the Doctor picked her up and spun her around. "Rose Tyler," he said, and her heart skipped a beat. She didn't live her life waiting for him to tell her he loved her—she knew he did, and that was enough. But if he ever did…She held her breath and looked up at him, but the Doctor just shook his head and swooped down for another kiss.

Wet from the rain, their lips slid together, causing their teeth to clack against each other a few times. It should have been too clumsy to be sensual, but something about the earthiness of kissing in the rain more than made up for any deficit in technique.

"Rose," the Doctor groaned as he kissed his way along her jawline, then down her neck.

Rose gasped when he sucked at her pulse point, then took a shaky step back. "Let's go back to the cabin," she suggested breathlessly. "Unless you want someone to catch us shagging outside in the rain…"

"That is an excellent point, love," he agreed, and his gravelly voice nearly had her dragging him to the ground, never mind that anyone might see. "Come on."

He grabbed her hand and they ran back the way they'd come, both of them using their free hands to shield their eyes from the driving rain. It took them ten minutes to reach their cabin, and by the time she saw the welcoming lights, Rose was shivering.

"Last one in the shower gets to—OH!"

Rose's threat was cut off when she hit a patch of mud. She skidded a few steps, flailing for a hand hold, but the Doctor had raced ahead to unlock the door and only turned around in time to watch her land on her bum, sending a spray of mud out behind her.

The fall was enough to rattle her teeth, and she groaned as she climbed back to her feet. "Forget what I was gonna say about the shower," she ordered as she limped into the house. "First one is mine."

oOoOoOoOo

An hour later, the Doctor had an arm wrapped around Rose, holding her close as they sat by the fire. He could still feel her shiver occasionally, despite being cocooned inside his oversized dressing gown.

"Drink your hot chocolate," he urged.

"It's too hot," Rose protested, but she took a sip anyway. She pulled the cup away from her mouth almost immediately. "Ouch! See, I burned my lip."

"Hmmm…" The Doctor shifted slightly and took her hot chocolate from her, setting it on the coffee table. "Want me to kiss it and make it better?"

Rose was already curling her hand around his neck. "Yeah, I think maybe I do."

The Doctor brushed her damp hair back from her face and tilted her face up. Rose's lips were parted, and he kissed her softly, first sucking at her top lip, then the bottom lip. She sighed against him and opened her mouth fully, and he slid his tongue inside, tasting the rich hot chocolate.

When he could tell she needed to breathe, he pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers. "Rose," he whispered, hoping she heard the words he didn't say.

In answer, she climbed into his lap and cuddled into his arms, and he knew that she did. He dropped light kisses along her jawline, offering silent words of love with each press of his lips.

Her sigh of contentment made his hearts ache with happiness, and for a moment, all he could do was hold her close. They stared at the fire together for several minutes, and then he felt Rose stir in his arms.

"So I've been wondering," she said, tracing patterns on his chest with her finger. "You told Claire that we're Doctor John and Rose Tyler."

He hummed. "Yep, I did. I love your name, Rose Tyler," he told her, enunciating each syllable.

She pulled back far enough to look him in the eye. "Doctor, you told her we're married."

The Doctor swallowed hard. Was that a problem? Should he not have done that? He knew he wanted to spend the rest of Rose's woefully short human life with her, and she'd said she was never going to leave him. Married was honestly the best word to describe their relationship, as far as he was concerned, but maybe she didn't want that?

All those thoughts flashed through his mind in less than thirty seconds. Then he saw the uncertainty in her eyes and realised she wasn't asking why he'd done that—she was asking if he'd meant it.

He brushed his knuckles over her cheek and tucked a piece of hair back behind her ear. "Yeah, I did. Is that all right?"

For a moment, Rose was completely still in his arms, not even taking a breath. The only sign that she'd heard him was the slight dilation of her pupils.

Then the air rushed out of her lungs and she took another breath, smiling up at him as she did. "Yeah. That's all right."

The Doctor leaned down, and as lips moved tenderly against Rose's, his big Time Lord brain started thinking of ways to make his intentions one hundred per cent clear to Rose. He might not be able to tell her he loved her, but he could promise to stay with her forever.


End file.
